Along with Me
by Naive Goth
Summary: Ryou's dad comes into town and, dirve him out to the airport to fly him to England. But on the way, something horrible happens... that sparks something amazing. Takes place right after battle city, putting the plot on hold.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

The rain was coming down hard, in frozen chunks. It set a steady yet chaotic rhythm against the front windshield. It was dark out, and the headlights hardly illuminated the slick black road.

"Sorry I'm always gone," Ryou's father was saying over the low hum of the engine. Ryou just stared out the window, resting his head on his hand.

"Hm-mm," the silver-haired seventeen year old breathed. His father frowned and glanced back at the road.

"We'll fly out to England together, you won't have to speak this complex language anymore-"

"I thought you LIKED Japan," Ryou interjected, glancing painfully at his father. The man blinked.

"I... I _do_. It's just, the language is...," he tried.

"Difficult? Complex? _Stupid_?" Ryou said incriminatingly, looking out the window again. His father shifted uncomfortably. What had happened to his quiet, polite son?

"No, no. Not stupid. Just, the other two. I LIKE Japan. I LIKE japanese. It's just, hard. To be here...," he glanced down. "Without your mother..."

Ryou saddened. He sat up and put a hand on his father's shoulder. His father looked at him. "I... I'm sorry dad. I just had a hard day. I mean, we're only human, right?" he smiled, a small one, but his first smile in weeks. His father smiled too.

"Yes, we-" but suddenly theere was a loud honk. The glare of headlights in front of him. Ryou braced himself as his father served to the left- right into the river.

"Dad!" Ryou screamed as the car began to sink. Ryou's father was panic-stricken as he turned to look at his son. The car began to fill with water.

"I'm sorry Ryou... I love you...," he said quietly.

"Dad! What do we do!" Ryou begged, grabbing his dad's hand. It was warm, but rough. They held each other through that simple appendage, and through it, thoughts were conveyed. Ryou backed into the wall, sloshing water, getting as far as he could from his father. "We're... we're going to die..."

"I'm sorry Ryou... my son...," Mr. Bakura said softly. He closed his eyes. Ryou unbuckled.

"No! I'm getting out of here!" Ryou reached for the door, but his dad grabbed his hand.

"It'll just flood the car faster," his father said gently. Ryou scowled.

"Let it," and he opened the door. Under Ryou's shirt, the Millenium Ring began to glow.

_"Not my host..."_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter One**

_My sweet little baby_

_rest your head on my breast_

_feel my breathing in your chest_

_If only I had stayed_

_I love you so much_

_It's hard to go on_

_I need you to be strong_

_against the wind and the rain_

_There will be losses_

_a shining heart_

_you can fall apart_

_but you must come back together again_

_My sweet little baby_

_rest your head on my breast_

_feel my heart in your chest_

_If only I had stayed_

Ryou was dreaming. He could tell because it was all a haze. He was two, in his first house. He had just fallen, or so he thought. He wasn't sure. But he was on the floor and crying. His mother picked him up, hushing him.

"My little baby, hush," she breathed. "It'll be all right."

"Mommy, I'm drowning!" he heard himself cry. Confusion struck Ryou. He wasn't drowning! "Mommy I can't breathe!"

"Then stop crying," she said gently, smiling at her baby. Ryou tried to stop, sniffing hugely, mucus running onto his upper lip. Tears streaked his face. It was so vivd, so real, and yet so hazy.

"Mommy, where is daddy?" Ryou sniffed.

"Shhh, don't speak. Daddy will be here soon. Now baby," she set him down, "go back."

"Mommy?" Ryou asked again.

"Go back, baby. Go back... go back..."

Ryou sat bolt up right, gasping for air. He was cold, and wet, and alone. The Millenium Ring stopped glowing. He looked around wildly for his father. "Dad!" he called, struggling to his feet but falling again and again.

He was on the river bank. It was dark, and cool out, but there was no freezing rain and the dark asphalt was not slick with ice or water. In fact, there was no asphalt at all. The moon, hidden behind clouds previously, shone brightly from an incredible distance that seemed almost impossibly close. I mean, it was HUGE. The river lapped gently on the slope of the sandy shore.

Ryou managed to stand. The river also seemed impossibly wide- he could hardly see the other side. "Dad!" he called again, stumbling along the shore. Everything was sand, in all directions. After a while of walking, Ryou collapsed. "Dad," he whispered, beginning to shake. "D-dad... you never... never said you loved me before then... why?"

And he curled up, and went to sleep.


End file.
